Frito Feet: The Reason Why Your Dog’s Feet Smells Delicious

Admit it, one of your secret obsessions is sniffing your dog’s delicious smelling feet. Does it smell like corn chips? Or nuts? Perhaps old pop corn? If so, your dog may have “frito feet” and the reason behind this condition is not exactly delicious.

Frito feet is not always bad. It’s a common problem among dogs caused by bacteria and fungi. Frito feet-causing bacteria and fungi thrives on many healthy animal skins, such as that of cats and dogs. Different microbes give off varying scents so frito feet smell can vary from chips to popcorn. But the smell is always salty and corn-related.

Dogs do not wear footwear so their feet is on the ground 24/7, making them prone to microbes that cause frito feet. It doesn’t help that they lick their feet (more icky microbes), and there are moist areas in the folds of their skin, fur and toe pads.

In addition, dogs aren’t exactly hygienic so even the cleanest among them have trillions of bacteria on their skin.

According to an article on Mental Floss: “All these micro-organisms give off their own distinct odors (they’re what give us BO), and the popcorn/corn chip smell on some dogs could be the fault of yeast or the bacterium Proteus, which are both known for their sweet, corn tortilla smell. Or it could be the bacterium Pseudomonas, which smells a little fruitier, but pretty close to popcorn to most noses.”